I have driven the all electric Nissan Leaf for just short of three months. And -other than the range- the topic of choice has been its near silence. So we decided to use it as a moving studio. We recorded Joost Biesheuvel and Croon Parade on the backseat of the Nissan for Bright.nl and the result is amazing. The camerawork and editing was done by Marten van Gelder from Geschikte Gasten.

Last summer I got my first taste of the Evoque when I got to drive it in Wales. And I was absolutely positively impressed by both the car and the company that makes it. It took a while before we got a chance to drive it in the Netherlands for a video, but eventually we did and it is online now.

In a couple of weeks we’ll be driving the Fisker Karma and the new Porsche 911. I’ll keep you posted.

As I have told you, this year I got to interview Peter Schreyer, Kia’s design director. And he turned out to be a charming, smart and gentle man. And he just got my unanimous, neverending respect for sending a hand drawn christmas card.

Bright #43 is about to hit the shelves. For a preview you can visit Bright Night this evening. I wrote an update on the Nissan Leaf longterm test, an item on the electric DeLorean and an article on the Nissan GT-R. With photography by Roelof Bos. Other highlights include the Bright 25 for 2011 (with the Nissan Leaf as one of the entries) and a nice piece on The Internet of Things. Jaron Lanier would not be pleased.

Last week I had to be in Amsterdam for a couple of days with the entire family. Adidas introduced their new F50 miCoach soccer boots in the same week. So me and junior headed to the Ajax training ground to have a go. My first time ever on real soccer shoes. Full review (in dutch) on Bright.

Last weekend I travelled to Abu Dhabi. Had some fun in a dragracer, a Radical and some competition karts. But best of all was talking to Wolfgang Warnecke, Shell’s chief scientist. The man must have been the inspiration for ‘the Wolf’ in Pulp Fiction, cause he is badass. Even though he works for an oil company, he predicts a future in which either battery electric or hydrogen electric cars will be our main source of transport. He has done some calculations on the overall CO2 that is necessary for producing and driving cars and decided he should buy a Porsche 944 to be living green. Considering the life expectancy of the Porsche the trade-off of the higher CO2 emissions while driving are negated.

On the Bright website there’s a short interview with the man.

Bright #42 is out and has some great features on Eindhoven and Dutch Game Design. I had the biggest contribution of any Bright magazine yet with the interview of Peter Schreyer (Kia’s Design Chief) and Gerard Unger (one of the world’s most famous typographers). My review of the Range Rover Evoque is also in there, as well as a huge 6-page essay on the Nürburgring and my experience with the Jaguar XKR-S at this most famous circuit in the world. On sale for €5,50 from this wednesday at retailers like Bruna, Albert Heijn and major bookstores.

Last tuesday at 2 o’clock in the morning Roger Muskee, Ronnie Zeemering and me drove off to Frankfurt for the IAA, the biggest stage for the car industry in the world. We wanted to make a video that didn’t just rehash the presentations, the concept cars and the booth babes, but an impression of what cars are and what the auto industry is today. So our Ford S-Max became our time capsule in travelling and the Messe became our microcosm of the market economy. The result is as confusing as real life.

I might have miscounted one or two and unfortunately I haven’t been too strict with registering details, but I have at least driven 100 different cars since getting my licence. Before I owned my own car I got to drive a lot of different cars from family, friends and of course colleagues with leased cars. Then it sort of grounded to a halt, but thanks to my great gig at Bright I have added some nice cars to the list and there’s a few more to come.

So here’s the list so far.

1. Alfa Romeo 156 > 1.9JTD, 5 deurs, zilver
2. Alfa Romeo 156 > 1.8, 5 deurs, zwart
3. Alfa Romeo 166 > 3.0 V6, 5 deurs, aubergine
4. Audi A2 > 1.4 benzine, blauw
5. Audi A3 > 2.0TDI, 5 deurs, blauw
6. Audi A5 > 3.0TDI, sportback, wit (2011)
7. Audi A6 > 3.0 tfsi full options (2011) dakotagrau
8. Audi A6 > 3.0 tdi (2011) dakotagrau
9. BMW 120i > 2.0i, 5 deurs, anthraciet (6-bak)
10. BMW 316i > 2 deurs, zwart
11. BMW 325i > 2 deurs, grijs
12. BMW 530d > 4 deurs, zwart (”03 model, automaat)
13. BMW 530xd > 5 deurs touring (”05 model, automaat)
14. BMW 735 automaat (zwart)
15. BMW 740i > 1996, blauw, automaat
16. Citroën Saxo > 1.4, 3 deurs, zwart
17. Citroën Saxo > VTS 16v, 3 deurs, blauw metallic
18. Citroën Xantia > 2.0, 5 deurs, grijs metallic
19. Citroën Xantia > 2.0, 5 deurs groen metallic
20. Daewoo Lanos > 5 deurs, groen metallic
21. Ferrari 458 Italia > rood (Ferrari Pilota) 2011
22. Fiat Panda > wit
23. Fiat Bravo > HGT 5 cylinder, 3 deurs, zwart
24. Fiat Scudo > 1.9 diesel
25. Fiat Croma > bruin metallic, 150pk diesel
26. Ford Capri > 6 cylinder, wit
27. Ford C-max > 2011 1.6 ecoboost Titanium
28. Ford Focus II > benzine station, zwart
29. Ford S-Max > Titanium 2.2 TDCI
30. Hyundai Excel > 3 deurs, roze
31. Hyundai Getz > 3 deurs, diesel, zwart
32. Jeep Wrangler > 4.0 V8, groen, softtop
33. Kia Sportage > 2011 1.7 diesel, x-ecutive plus
34. Kia Pro_Cee’d > 2011 1.6 diesel
35. Lada Niva > 1.6, rood
36. Lancia Ypsilon > 1.3, zwart
37. Range Rover Evoque > SD4 2.2 Automatic, rood (Land Rover)
38. Range Rover Evoque Coupe > Si4 Automatic, wit (Land Rover)
39. Mazda MX-5 race prepped, 2011 ice race
40. Mazda MX-5 2011 zwart coupe roadster gt-l
41. Mini One > 1.6, zwart
42. Mini Cooper S, blauw.
43. Mini Cooper E > zwart
44. Nissan – Double Cab pick-up, 2008 blauw
45. Nissan Leaf, wit
46. Opel Astra > 2.0 TDI 5 deurs wit/geel/blauw -
47. Opel Astra > II 2.0 TDI 5 deurs, wit, roze, blauw -
48. Opel Astra > II 1.8 station, zwart
49. Opel Corsa > II 1.4 3 deurs, goud
50. Peugeot 205 > zwart > GTI 1.6, zwart ”88
51. Peugeot 205 > GTI 2.0 zwart ”88 (Jochem)
52. Peugeot 206 > 1.9TDI 5 deurs, wit, roze, blauw
53. Peugeot 206 > 1.9 rood
54. Peugeot 206 CC > zwart
55. Peugeot Boxer > donkergroen
56. Peugeot Expert > wit > zwart
57. Porsche Panamera Turbo > zilvergrijs ’09 (
58. Porsche Panamera 4S > zwart ’09
59. Porsche Cayman S > mat zwart
60. Renault Clio > 1.4, 3 deurs, rood
61. Renault Twingo > 3 deurs, blauw
62. Renault Megane I > 5 deurs, groen metallic
63. Renault Kangoo > donkerrood
64. Rover Mini Cooper > 1.3i, racing-green
65. Rover Mini Cooper> 1.3i met dubbele Weber, paars
66. Rover Mini Cooper > cabrio rood
67. Saab 93 > 2.0, 5 deurs, zwart (automaat)
68. Seat Toledo > 2.0 TDI, 5-deurs, zwart
69. Seat Ibiza > 3 deurs, donkerblauw
70. Skoda > Octavia > 2.0 TDI, station
71. Smart For Two > wit, zilver (semi-automaat)
72. Smart ForFour > 1.3 zwart, zwart
73. Smart ForFour > 1.3 passion groen, zilver
74. Subaru Legacy > II, 2.0 16V 4×4 station, zilvergrijs metallic
75. Subaru Legacy > II, 2.0 16V 2WD station, rood
76. Subaru Legacy > II, 2.0 16V 2WD station, donkergroen metallic
77. Subaru Legacy > III, 2.0 16V 4×4 station, zilvergrijs metallic
78. Subaru Legacy > IV, 2.0 16v 4×4 station, zwart
79. Subaru Forester > II, 2.0, blauw
80. Subaru SVX > 3.3 automaat, donkergroen metallic
81. Suzuki Swift > 1.3 zwart
82. Toyota Corolla > 1.6 16v, 5-deurs, wit
83. Toyota Pick up >
84. Toyota Starlet > 1.3i, 5-deurs, groen metallic
85. Toyota Yaris > 3 deurs , donkerblauw
86. Volkswagen Polo > II
87. Volkswagen Golf II > 1.6, 3-deurs, zilver
88. Volkswagen Golf > III, 1.6, 3 deurs, zwart
89. Volkswagen Golf > IV, 2.0TDI, 5 deurs
90. Volkswagen Golf > IV, 2.0TDI, 3 deurs, blauw
91. Volkswagen LT > TDI, 170pk verhoogd, verlengd
92. Volkswagen Passat > III 2.0 TDI, station, zwart
93. Volkswagen Passat > IV 2.0 TDI, 130PK, 6 versnellingen
94. Volkswagen Passat > V 2.0 TDI
95. Volkswagen Corrado > G60, grijs metallic
96. Volkswagen Taro > 4×4, groen-wit
97. Volvo V40 > 2.0 Tdi, zwart
98. Volvo V40 > 1.8 benzine
99. Volvo XC60 > T6 285pk City Safety
100. Volvo V60 > T6 304pk Pedestrian Safety, blauw

Here’s some of my pictures of the 2011 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa Francorchamps. Click the links at the top to swap pictures.